I love magical realism, and this had such an intriguing premise! A doctor suddenly gains the ability to see exactly how many days someone has left to live. I was so invested by this moral and emotional dilemma Charlie is placed in. Do you tell people the truth? Do you try to intervene? How do you maintain relationships when every interaction is threatened by an expiration date?

It was definitely thought-provoking, and I really felt for Charlie and the immense guilt and helplessness he faces. I also appreciated its reminder to live life to the fullest. But overall, I was expecting a lot more of an emotional punch. Even the rekindled romance was a little underwhelming.

Some aspects of the ending felt unfinished, and the direction the magic took left it feeling a bit purposeless. Without giving away spoilers, it's so hard to explain! It’s definitely a compelling story (it would make a great book club pick!), but I found myself wishing for more clarity and closure.

Charlie Knight is one of two local town doctors. His life is boring, but he has plans to finally move and take a job he has always felt remorse for leaving. Even Gen moving back isn’t enough to keep him here. At a routine appointment with a patient, Charlie suddenly feels off, and a number comes to him. He later finds out the number is the number of days that patient had left. How can he be a Doctor when every time someone tells him what is wrong he finds out when they will die?

After loving How To Be Remembered, when Sourcebooks reached out about this one I needed it! This book was so unique, but so dang heavy at the same time! I cannot imagine knowing when people will die, and I certainly never want to know about myself! I loved the magical realism of this one, but overall it just felt like something was missing, maybe it felt like there were a few storylines that didn’t feel completely finished? I still really enjoyed the book though! If you liked The Measure, you will enjoy this one!

Thank you to @bookmarked for my gifted copy of this book!

Charlie is a thirty-eight-year-old doctor living in the small town where he was born. He works at a local clinic and is beloved by all his patients. He has always dreamed of leaving home and doing something more exciting. His chance finally comes when he receives a job offer from a London hospital. Even though he has not told his boss or his parents, Charlie has rented a flat in London and is packing to leave in four weeks when two unexpected happenings threaten to derail his plans.
First, Genevieve, the love of his life, who left him behind, returns to live next door. Second, Charlie discovers that he has the ability to determine the number of days any patient will live. This is a very mixed blessing.
All the Perfect Days is an intriguing and thoroughly enjoyable story of love, responsibility, and loss. I become very involved in the character's lives and in the whole question of how to live if one knows the precise date of one's death.
That said, I did think Charlie seemed a bit immature for thirty-eight and I disagreed with several of his important choices. The ending felt good but didn't make as much sense as I thought it should. (I can't clarify that without a lot of spoilers!)
I would like to thank NetGalley and Sourcebooks Landmark for granting me access to a free advance reading copy of All the Perfect Days in exchange for my honest opinion.

4.5 Stars.

What if you knew how many days someone else had to live? Would you tell them? Would you do something to prevent their death?

For those who loved The Measure by Nikki Erlick or Here One Moment by Liane Moriarty, you'll definitely want to pick up Michael Thompson's newest book All the Perfect Days for a unique variation on the "death date" plot line.

This book spans multiple genres (my favorite book type!)-- it is mostly adult contemporary magical realism fiction with threads of mystery and romance as well. It is mostly a character-driven novel, with excellent use of showing not telling in the writing style (like, textbook perfect.)

Quick Plot Summary: Charlie is 38 year old single male working as a small-town family physician. One day, out of the blue, he obtains the ability to see the number of days his patients will live. It takes him a while to understand his new-found ability, and he is faced with the decision of what to do with this death date information. His ex-girlfriend Gen also moves back to the area, bringing up Charlie's past, both good and bad. As Charlie encounters different family, friends, and patients, will he be able to help them live their days to the fullest? Or does his involvement doom their future?

My Impressions: I really enjoyed this unique story! I felt real emotion as Charlie helped each of his patients through difficult situations, and I loved the character of Gen. I took off half a star because I wanted the magical-realism elements to be a little more explained/resolved in the end. This was a quick read but felt like the perfect length and had great pacing.

Content Considerations: Scant language, and a chaste kiss or two with implied intimacy but not described in any way, adult issues/challenges/themes.

Thank you to Sourcebooks Landmark and NetGalley for the complementary copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. My review is my honest opinion and is in no way influenced by the author or publisher.

All the Perfect Days by Michael Thompson tells the story of Charlie. Charlie is moving to London to be an emergency physician. He is leaving his small town, family doctor practice behind and moving to a city where he knows no one. That's the key; he knows no one. Charlie woke up one day and he could "see" how many days people had left on the Earth. How can he tell people how much longer they have? Charlie struggles with this knowledge and he starts avoiding people. Then Gen moves back to town. Can he pick up and leave when the love of his life moves back next door? Charlie continues to struggle being a doctor while knowing when people will leave this world. Is London really the answer?
I loved Thompson's previous book, How to Be Remembered, and was so excited to get an early copy of All the Perfect Days. I love Thompson's story-telling and his creative ways he looks at the world. His books make you think, what would you do? I am torn with this book. I really wanted to absolutely love this book, but I just didn't love it. I liked it, I just didn't love it. It was overall kind of sad and I really felt Charlie's overwhelming sadness/ depression. Special Thanks to NetGalley, Michael Thompson, and Sourcebooks Landmark publishing for the advanced digital copy in exchange for my honest opinion. 3.75 stars for me.

3.75/5

Thank you to NetGalley and Sourcebooks Landmark for providing me with a digital copy of this book!

All the perfect days’ is a wonderfully pleasant book discussing themes like love, death, and the potential burden some knowledge can be.

We follow our main character Charlie, a doctor, as he comes to discover his ability to know how many days his patients have left to live. Charlie views this ability as a gift, a chance for him to encourage his patients to get the most out of their lives. But is it a gift? And what happens when there are people whose final day you do not want to know about?

The plot of this book was incredibly intriguing. I think the topic of death has always been one I approach with curiosity, but also some feelings of dread, which I think are very human responses. Upon requesting the eARC of this book, I wasn’t sure what to expect, how death as a theme would be approached, but I think Michael Thompson does a great job at tackling this challenging subject. It’s a more light-hearted read than I expected it to be! It maybe could have gone a little more in depth at times, but it didn’t take away from this book being a great read.

I also loved the small-town feel to it, although I am not from one, I do come from a smaller city and I could compare that feeling to the one that this book evoked in me!

What I least liked about the book is something I don’t think I can fully explain without spoiling it, but I will just say that there were some topics that didn’t have a satisfactory ending to me. Things don’t have to be clear cut by the time that the book is at its end, but it was in a way that left me a little dissatisfied.

Oh, I actually really liked the romance! It came across more calm and different from what I am used to (I mean, I mostly read YA and New Adult, so I think that makes sense lol). I don’t want to spoil it so I won’t go into details, but I just really liked seeing the romance develop and also just getting to know our FMC.

All in all, I had a great time reading! I’m really glad I read this and I cannot wait for ‘All The Perfect Days’ by Michael Thompson to be released, so that you all can finally read it!

I jumped at the chance to read this because I had enjoyed Thompson's previous novel, How to be Remembered. This book was an interesting spin on the question "If you could know when you would die, would you want to?" Charlie can't know when he will die, but as soon as he starts treating patients or talking to friends and family about any symptoms they have, a number appears in his brain, indicating how many days they have left to live. Does he want to know this about the people he loves the most? And should he let someone know if their time is almost up? Along the way, Charlie's damaged relationship with his mom grounds the story and adds depth to Charlie and other characters. I enjoyed reading this and thought the premise was unique.

All the Perfect Days by Michael Thompson blends magical realism and romance into a fascinating and inventive narrative. At its heart is Charlie Knight, a doctor who has grown up in the community he serves. His close connections with his patients make his work deeply personal. Charlie has put aside his dream of becoming an emergency doctor. The story kicks off with the return of Genevieve Longstaff, a former love interest coinciding with Charlie developing a strange new ability. He can intuit how many days someone has left to live.

While understandably freaked out by this power, Charlie tries to use it to help his patients make the most of their remaining time. However, knowing isn’t always good, as he soon realizes the impact his intervention can have on someone’s life. On top of that, Charlie struggles to avoid learning the number of days left for the people he loves most.

The story cleverly explores themes like cause and effect, fate versus free will, and the consequences of knowledge. I wanted more clarity on some of the magical elements of the story but overall it was both deeply thought-provoking and engaging. I felt that the romance between Charlie and Genevieve took a back seat to the rest of the narrative, and would have loved more depth in that aspect of the story. I was left thinking about this one after I had finished.

Thank you NetGalley and Sourcebooks Landmark for the advanced reader copy. This is my honest review.

I thought this book had a great premise but found it difficult to be hooked in the first 4 chapters. I needed a little bit more emotional connection to the character. Overall good .

The thing I love about Michael Thompson it is so easy to get into the shoes of his characters. I always find myself wondering and even somewhat planning what I would do if I was in the situation. The main character in this book, a doctor, can suddenly tell exactly how many days are left before his patient dies. It drew me in right away and I enjoyed following him as he navigated the complications this created for his personal and professional life. Thompson doesn’t overcomplicate things; while there are some twists and turns, I never feel like I’m lost or confused like I do with some magical realism and/or fantasy. This book was happy, sad, clear, and thought provoking. An enjoyable read.

If you loved The Measure, then you will absolutely eat this book up. The two had a lot of similarities - but that's not to take away from either book; they were both such fresh takes on the question, "would you want to know how long you have left?". Where 'The Measure' took a whimsy and magical realism path, All the Perfect Days stayed real and very much in the present for how it was approached and I truly appreciated that.

Charlie, a family doctor with a lifelong dream of being an ER physician had his first 'episode' when caring for a patient - the way in which it was described truly had me gasping and thinking that whom I thought was the MMC would be dying in the opening pages of the book - so as more was revealed, I was highly invested! As he comes to terms with his 'gift' of knowing when people will die it's easy to see the toll that it takes on him - his fears regarding the knowledge, how he questions everything, and then ultimately how he puts everything back together and works it all out.

There's a lot that happens, and the way that it twists really allows for the heartstrings to be pulled on as you read. The friendships he makes along the way, and the ways in which he sees what it truly means and how it can be both good and bad to know something about when a persons life may end was really beautifully written.

This is one for sure that you will want on your radar for when it's released in May! Thank you to NetGalley and Sourcebooks for this e-arc in exchange for my honest review.

This took a while for me to get into. I pretty much figured out the storyline but it was still a good book.

⭐️ 3.5 maybe 4 stars
I enjoyed this read quite a bit. I feel like the storyline was original and I really liked Charlie as a mmc. If you’re looking for straight romance this may not be for you, but a good story with lots of emotions throughout.

All the Perfect Days was a real page turner! I was drawn in immediately and was surprised at every turn. It was a wonderfully rich story that kept me reading late into the night. The characters were well developed and likable, and I pictured them all clearly in my mind, almost like seeing them in a movie! I’m a huge fan of this author now and can’t wait to read his other book!

This book was so different, and I really enjoyed it a great deal. Extra marks for originality. If you could tell how many days others have to live, would you tell them? Try to change it? Add to the fact that the protagonist is a doctor, you've got a really good story.

The book evoked true feelings of concern and a feeling of trying to get to the next part of the story, yet not wanting it to come.

I highly recommend All the Perfect Days.

Thank you to Sourcebooks Landmark and NetGalley for an honest review of this title. All opinions are my own.

#MichaelThompson #AllthePerfectDays #Netgalley #Sourcebooks

You follow Charlie in his life as a doctor and the difficult choices he has to make. The book moves you and drags you along. It is a wonderfully easy read but has a serious undertone. It has no spice.

There are some random physical facts that I really enjoyed reading.

I definitely recommend this book! Thanks to NetGalley and Michael Thompson for the ARC!

Every choice we make effects innumerable other choices in our lives. Some of them can change our trajectories entirely. It might not even feel like a big decision at the time - looking back it is sometimes the smallest things that trigger the biggest changes. For Charlie, a small-town doctor, it's a lesson learned the hard way in All the Perfect Days, a new novel by Michael Thompson.

See, one day Charlie has an episode when he's helping a patient. There's nothing medically wrong with him, but it keeps happening. When one of his patients dies unexpectedly, he realizes what is happening to him. Though he isn't sure yet if it is a blessing or a curse, he sees how many days a person has left to live.

It is one of the age-old questions, isn't it? If you could find out when you were to die, would you want to know? The same idea is explored in another book I read this year by another Australian author, Here One Moment, by Liane Moriarty. As you can imagine, it's not a straightforward answer. As Charlie struggles with this new ability, he's forced to confront questions of morality, chance, trust, and honesty. When you know when it ends, will it change the decisions you make along the way?

I absolutely loved this novel. It is thoughtful and well-executed, showing all the sides of the cube. There are many implications and permutations of this phenomenon, each of them interesting and meaningful not just to the characters, but the way we think about our lives, all in a highly readable story.

Note:: I received an early copy of this book from the publisher through netgalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

Something happens to Dr Charlie Knight as he becomes able to see how long a patient has to live. It’s an unwanted and disconcerting gift as he struggles to accept what is happening. His entire life is in upheaval, he’s leaving for a job in a London ER, his mother is still ignoring him, and the love of his life comes back and moves in next door. He’s a good man who’s trying to do the best for everyone around him.

I loved the authors style of writing, the imaginative plot, and the characters. Well worth the read.

Michael Thompson’s All the Perfect Days is a compelling look at the consequences of knowing the date of someone’s death.

Charlie Knight finds himself with this “gift” and the book follows his coming to terms with how to manage this knowledge.

I found the book compelling from the first page and beautifully written. The cast of characters is varied, but each adds to the feeling of a small community. The main characters are very likable, and the plot has a couple very unexpected twists.

I highly recommend this book! Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.

cool kinda-magical realism book about a doctor who realizes that when he diagnoses his paintings he can see how long they have to live. good twists. would recommend. 4 stars. tysm for the arc.